Halifax-based Dispension Industries, which launched as a seller of smart kiosks for dispensing controlled substances as part of harm reduction programs, is diversifying into alcohol sales, starting with sports arenas.

Chief executive Corey Yantha, who founded Dispension in 2017, said in an interview the move does not represent a pivot, but rather a long-planned expansion of the company’s existing offerings. He added that Dispension’s track record of working with public health agencies has endowed it with revenue and reputational capital that it is now deploying to break into retail products.

The kiosk design that dispenses opioids as part of safer supply programs uses palm print-based biometric authentication to confirm a drug-user’s identity. The alcohol kiosk, which Dispension calls its SmartServ system, scans a buyer’s I.D. and compares the photo to their actual face. The kiosk can also use clues like a person’s skin temperature to identify customers who might be too drunk to purchase alcohol.

“The objective of the company was to develop technology that could securely distribute age-restricted products,” said Yantha.

“We’ve done quite a bit of work with public health and safety agencies here in Canada and the United States, and that allowed us to validate our technology and validate the business model.”

Dispension kiosks are used as part of safer supply programs in several Canadian provinces, including Nova Scotia, Ontario and British Columbia, along with several American cities. They are also used in Philadelphia to dispense Narcan, a drug that reverses the effects of opioid overdoses, with the kiosks’ LCD screens displaying information about how to administer it.

How the SmartServ kiosks will interact with liquor laws varies by jurisdiction, Yantha said, but in general the barriers are not so far proving to be significant, though some governments have required that a person be nearby to oversee proceedings.

“The way that we’re looking at this is we’re integrating new technology to go above and beyond the current standard for selling alcohol at venues” said Yantha, referring to the system for detecting if someone is intoxicated. “It’s kind of pushing the envelope as far as technology, but (regulators) understand why it’s important.

“And using our learnings and the experience we’ve gained in harm reduction, we understand how to check boxes.”

So far, Dispension has rolled out a SmartServ system with the Los Angeles Dodgers during the baseball team’s All-Star Weekend, as well as at a handful of technology summits and conferences. Yantha hopes to place more kiosks with baseball teams in the coming months, followed by professional basketball and hockey teams next fall.

The company works with a manufacturing partner in Ontario but completes most of the work in-house, and so far has a team of about 10 to 12 people, though some are contractors, making the exact number hard to pin down. Yantha hopes to hire between another five to seven within the next six months, including technical staff and product testers.